Virginia State Police
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Each of the seven field divisions deploys tactical teams, canine teams and SCUBA teams. These teams are available 24 hours a day to assist local law enforcement agencies or State Police personnel. Tactical teams assist in the execution of high-risk search or arrest warrants and in dealing with hostage situations. Canine teams are available to track lost persons or fugitives, search for suspects of crimes, and detect illegal drugs, explosives, or accelerants used in arsons. SCUBA teams are used to recover drowning victims, conduct swift water rescues, or search for evidence of criminal activity.

Canine Program

Canine teams are available to track lost persons or fugitives, search for suspects, and detect explosives or accelerants used in arsons. At the present time, there are two canine training facilities operated by the Department. The first is located at the Training Academy in Richmond and the second is located at the Abingdon Regional Jail in Washington County.

Contained below are statistics that reflect the work accomplished by these teams in 2010.

Explosives/Weapon Detector Canine Teams and Accelerant Canine Teams

The Virginia State Police has 15 explosive canine teams.

The following is the results of the teams work for 2010:

576 searches

241 security assignments

38 canine demonstrations

The outcome of the calls resulted in:

7 weapons discovered

3 explosive device recovered

3 shell/casings evidence recovered

3 arrests made as result of canine search

Patrol Canine Teams

At this time, there are nine patrol canine and two bloodhound teams. In 2010, the canine teams responded to 136 calls/requests for assistance. Following are the results of their work for the year:

40 felony arrests

28 misdemeanor arrests

14 people found

7 canine demonstrations

Narcotic Canine Teams

The Department has 18 narcotic teams. In 2010, the canine teams responded to 718 calls/requests for assistance. Following are the results of their work for the year:

118 arrests

127 drug seizures

4 vehicle seizures

$521,215.00 in cash seizures

Tactical Team Program

Within each of the seven State Police field divisions, a Tactical Operation Team is maintained. These teams are available to assist local agencies and other State Police members in the arrest and apprehension of individuals known to pose a threat to law enforcement officials.

During 2010, the State Police tactical teams responded to 844 requests for assistance, resulting in 705 felony arrests, 5 misdemeanor arrests, 194 weapons were seized along with an estimated $97,749,806.00 worth of illegal narcotics and $354,109.00 in currency.

SCUBA Program

During 2010, the Department's Search and Recovery Team made the following recoveries:

Weapons

28

Murder Weapons

5

Vehicles

6

Boats

2

Bodies

11

Other Property

94

Total Property Recovered

$389,600.00

Total Operations

53

Total Assist to Other Agencies

23

Total Training

58

SAR Operations

5

Swiftwater Operations

6

The Department’s Search and Recovery Team continues to expand the capabilities through a proactive approach in recoveries, as well as our rescue missions. This approach includes, but is not limited to, liaison with other departments, proactively searching believed criminal dump sites and maintaining our professional performance through innovative training and equipment acquisition.